Threat in the Shadows
by Eltaur of Gondolin
Summary: Seto Kaiba's life was completely normal until a strange girl starts attending his school and the events that follow change his life...
1. Eyes

**Alright, this is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic and I'm excited to write it. I hope you all enjoy and please review.**

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 **Seto's POV**

"Seto, it's time for school!"

Kaiba groaned as the knocking on his door continued.

 _It didn't feel like time to get up._ He looked over at the clock on his nightstand; 6:01.

"Come on nii-sama, we're going to be late."

 _Late._ Was his brother crazy? School didn't even start until 8:00. Kaiba made a mental note to have a talk with Mokuba about what time school _actually_ started.

"Mokuba! School doesn't start until 8:00, its 6:00. We've got two hours." He shouted back, as he rolled over on his side, back facing the door. He pulled his light blue blankets up to his chin and closed his sapphire eyes, ready to go back to sleep.

"Seto. Traffic is going to be insane, and if we don't leave soon we're going to be late." Mokuba stated flatly. The young CEO opened his eyes and sighed. His younger brother was right. It was Monday, the roads would be filled with busses and cars all driving kids to school, people rushing to work, and others driving to who knows where.

"Fine." He said, rolling onto his back and sitting up.

"Just let me get dressed and get my things together."

"Ok." Kaiba heard the sound of his brother's retreating footsteps. He casually through the blankets off of him and swung his legs over the side of the four poster bed. His head and body yearned for him to lay back and sleep. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked over to his bathroom. The young CEO looked at himself in the mirror. His sapphire blue eyes were dull from lack of sleep and his brown hair was sticking up all over the place. He had stayed up well past midnight trying to get all his work done, but decided to try to get at least a little bit of sleep after Mokuba had knocked on his office door and told him that if he didn't go to sleep in the next 15 minutes he would drag him to his room and chain him to his bed. Seto chuckled softly to himself as he remembered his little brother's threat. He splashed some water on his tired face, hoping that it would help him to wake up. After a few splashes the dragon duelist felt wide awake. **(** Well…. sort of **)** He quickly brushed his teeth and combed his hair, then exited his bathroom to get dressed. The tall brunette opened his wardrobe and pulled out his school uniform, which consisted of blue pants, a white under shirt, and a blue button up jacket. He dressed quickly and put his PJs in his dresser drawer. Kaiba walked over to a small, round, silver table in the middle of his room and stood there. He inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. He really just wanted to sleep and the temptation to go back to his bed and curl up was growing. Shaking his head, he tryed to get rid of the sleepiness, and picked up his silver briefcase from the table. Kaiba then placed it on his bed and opened it. He walked over to the large oaken desk in the left hand corner of the room, opposite of his bed. It was cluttered with many folders and loose papers, and in the middle a lap top sat half opened. The young CEO closed the lap top, put it in a small protective case, carried it over, and put it in the briefcase. Then he went back to the desk and gathered up his school books, supplies, and some other paper work and put them in the briefcase as well. ' _Why do school books have to be so heavy?'_ He only ever opened them when the teacher told them to in class. ' _And I don't even read it. I don't have to. It's all stuff I already know.'_ After Kaiba finished his little rant he closed the briefcase, picked it up and headed for the door.

As he opened the door a slight squeak came from its hinges. ' _Great, one more thing to deal with. As if school wasn't enough.'_ He groaned. _'I'll have that fixed when I get back'_ He closed the door and walked briskly down the hall to the stairway. At the top of the stairs stood a small figure. His long black hair was neatly brushed and some of it lay across his shoulders. He wore blue jeans and tennis shoes, and a blue stripped long sleeved shirt with a sleeveless yellow vest that was unzipped to reveal a Dual Monster card shaped locket that hung around his neck.

"There you are." He said. A smirk appeared on his face.

"I was beginning to think you had fallen back asleep." The little boy chuckled.

"Look who's talking." Said Kaiba as he came to stand in front of his little brother.

"Usually I'm the one who has to keep waking you up, Mokuba." Mokuba just smiled and started heading down the stairs.

"What is up with you, you're never up early?" Kaiba asked as he followed his little brother.

"My class is taking a field trip to an art museum, remember?" Replied Mokuba as he jumped down the last few steps. _Art museum? Oh, right._ How could he have forgotten about that? Mokuba loved art; he brought a sketch pad pretty much everywhere and would draw in it any time he got the chance. But he didn't just draw, he also enjoyed using paints, pastels, and charcoals. Kaiba was proud of his brother's growing talent.

"I had forgotten about that." He said as he reached the last step. Mokuba didn't reply and just continued down the hall towards the dining room. Seto followed. Their footsteps echoing softly. The hall had a high ceiling and on the walls large paintings of mountains, fields, and other such things, were hung. They soon came to a large double door on their left. Mokuba pushed open one of the doors. The door opened almost effortlessly on its large hinges. The raven haired boy stood there for a few seconds so that his big brother could catch up.

"Come on slow poke." He said with a grin.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Seto replied. Together the two brothers walked into the dining room. Maids were already bustling about with their chores.

"Good morning, Master Kaiba. Good morning Master Mokuba." Greeted one maid with a warm smile.

"Morning, Abigayle." Mokuba smiled up at the young girl who always greeted them with much happiness and warmth. Kaiba just gave her a curt nod and continued toward his chair at the head of the table. Many variations of food was set nicely on the table in front of him. Mokuba took a seat next to his brother and quickly started filling his plate. Kaiba settled for just some eggs and bacon.

"Hurry up Seto. We're going to be late." Mokuba reminded him as he started to quickly eat what was on his plate. Kaiba just nodded and continued eating.

In about ten minutes the two brothers had finished eating their breakfast and were soon heading toward the front door to the limo that awaited then.

Mokuba always sat in the passenger seat while Seto usually sits in the back. Once they were seated the driver put the limo in gear and drove off. After about fifteen minutes the limo pulled in front of Mokuba's school. The little raven haired boy opened the car door and jumped out.

"Bye Seto. See you after school." He said before running off toward the school doors. Once Kaiba's little brother was through the doors he gave the command for the driver to continue.

"Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba." The driver answered, putting the car in gear. And soon they were…. stuck in traffic. Kaiba groaned at the long line of cars in front of him. This was going to take forever.

After about an hour of going a few feet then stopping, going a few feet then stopping, the limo finally pulled up in front of Domino High. Kaiba quickly got out, not saying anything to the driver, and walked briskly toward the doors. On the way he passed a few small groups of students who were talking and visiting while waiting for their classes to start. He paid no attention to them. Kaiba walked through the already open doors into the main halls. The noise level rocketed. Many students filled the halls. Most were just talking to each other Kaiba paid no attention to them either. Ignoring the students that bumped into him he continued to walk down the hall toward his first class. As he got closer to the class room, he suddenly he felt as if someone was watching him from behind. But lots of people looked at him. He was the CEO of Kaiba Corp and the greatest dragon duelist in the world. So why was this so different? Kaiba froze in his tracks as the feeling grew stronger. It felt unfriendly, in a way, but not completely hostile. He looked behind him to see how it was but when he turned at once the feeling vanished. No one was paying any attention to him. At that moment the bell rang loudly, signaling for the students to get to their classes. Kaiba shook his head and continued his way to his class.

Students had already started to fill the room by the time he walked through the door. He quickly found his desk and sat down in the chair with his briefcase beside him.

"Hi Kaiba." Came a voice. Kaiba looked up to see a short kid with spiky hair approach him. Yugi gave a kind, warm smile that Kaiba didn't return.

"What do you want." He growled.

"I just wanted to say 'hi'." Yugi replied innocently. Before Kaiba could shoot a smart comment the teacher walked in the door. At once everyone was quiet and tripping over each other to get to their seats. Yugi glanced at Kaiba one more time before going to his own seat. Kaiba watched as the teacher walked to the front of the class. She wore a light gray knee-length skirt and a dressy jacket to match with a white button up shirt underneath, her grey/brown hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head and her half-moon glasses rested on the tip of her nose.

"Good day class." She said kindly. A smile spread on her face as she looked at her class. She was, of all, the nicest teacher in the whole school. She was always understanding if you came in just a minute or two late. If you had a good reason.

"I have an announcement to make." She looked around the room as if trying to find someone. Kaiba followed her gaze to an empty desk in the far corner of the room. _That wasn't there last_ _time._ He thought to himself.

"Um, well she doesn't seem to be here at the moment but I'm sure she's just a minute la-" At that moment the class room door swung open and in the door way stood a tall thin girl. Her shoulders were broad and strong and her hair was a light golden brown and fell to her waist but was shorter around her face. Gray/blue eyes shone through her long bangs her expressionless face was tan and covered in freckles. The girl's gaze went around the room. At that moment Kaiba felt those strange eyes on him once again, but this time it was stronger. He flinched and inside he cowered a little. The girl's eyes seemed to burn with a strong fire. These were the eyes that were watching him before, and he didn't like it.

"Oh, there you are, dear." Said the teacher. The girl looked at the teacher. Even with the girl looking in the opposite direction the feeling did not dim.

"Class I'd like you to meet your new class mate. Tabitha Shepherd…."

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 **Ok, I hope you all enjoyed that and I will, hopefully be working on the next chapter soon. I have a lot of ideas for fanfics and I'm trying to get them all down on paper as well as keep on top of all the other things I need to do, so I will update when I can. Please let me now what you think of my writings and how i can make them better.**

 **Please R &R (Read and Review) I really want to hear what you think of my work.**

 **Thank you. :)**


	2. Surrounded

**Alright, I'm so sorry for not writing this sooner. A lot has been going on. And is still going on. But I finally got this done. I hope you enjoy this. Please R &R. (Read and Review) thanks for being patient with me.**

 _ **\- Eltaur of Gondolin**_

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 **Seto's POV**

"Class, I'd like you to meet your new classmate, Tabitha Shepherd." The teacher said kindly, motioning to the girl in the doorway. A shiver ran down Seto's spine as the strange feeling spiked a little.

"I'm so sorry for being late." Tabitha said, shutting the door behind her. A small apologetic smile appeared on her face as she slowly brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. The teacher just smiled back.

"That is alright, dear, we haven't started yet. Why don't you take a seat over there by Joseph and then we will begin." She said motioning over to the empty desk next to a rough looking blond who waved at Tabitha and gave a goofy grin. Usually Kaiba would have rolled his eyes at Joey's actions or shot some smart comment at him but his eyes couldn't leave the strange girl, as if something would happen when he wasn't looking. Tabitha nodded to the teacher and walked over to the empty desk. As she passed Kaiba's desk she turned her head slightly to look at him. And for a second, her gray/blue eyes met Kaiba's blue eyes. At that moment, to Kaiba, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He quickly avoided her eyes as they seemed to cut and dig through him, as if trying to find something deep inside him. To Kaiba it felt as if her gaze lasted for hours but soon the slow motion moment was over. Not looking at her eyes he watched as Tabitha walked over to her desk and sat down, shooting a kind smile at Joey as she hung her back pack on the back of her chair.

The teacher clapped her hands to get every one's attention. Kaiba slowly tore his gaze away from Tabitha and tried to focus on the lesson. _I can't let her distract me._ Kaiba kept repeating in his head. _Tabitha is just another student._ But he couldn't shake the strange feeling.

The teacher walked around to all the desks and put a face down paper on all of them.

"Now class remember how we have been discussing the Normandy Invasion? Well today we will be having a pop quiz on it, so I hope you all studied hard. And Tabitha, dear, since you were not here, just try to answer what questions you can."

"Yes, Mrs. Wattson." Tabitha replied. After Mrs. Wattson had passed out all of the quiz sheets she walked back to her desk and sat down in her chair. Looking at her watch she said:

"You can begin… Now."

Kaiba flipped the quiz sheet in front of him over, picked up his pencil and tried to read the first question. He read it three times before he could think of the answer. Seto felt uneasy, the unfriendly kept nagging at him. _Come on Seto, focus._

Slowly he worked down the page. Each time the feeling seemed to lessen a little. Right as he wrote down the answer to the last question, the school bell rang. Usually he would have been done long before. _What is wrong with you Kaiba?_

"And class, remember that tomorrow we will be going on a field trip to the museum." Mrs. Wattson said as students immediately left their quiz sheets and gathered their back packs to leave. Kaiba was the first one out of the class room. He had to get by himself for a moment. While the feeling had lessened it was still there. He quickly walked into the boy's bathroom, hoping no one else was in there, so he could have a few moments to relax. The young CEO had never felt this way before. To his luck no one else was in the room. Kaiba stood in the middle of the floor, took a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it out.

"Come on Seto, get yourself together." He said just under his breath as he walked over to where the sinks were. Leaning on the counter top he stared at himself in the mirror for a moment before straightening up and walking toward the door. _I've got this, I won't let Tabitha distract me._ He thought to himself for the hundredth time. The feeling soon vanished completely as he walked quickly to his locker. Nobody was paying any attention to him. Now he started to feel more relaxed and collected. He hoped that the rest of the day would be like this and that he had no other classes that he shared with Tabitha.

"Oh, hi Kaiba." Came a voice behind him. Kaiba stopped and turned toward the voice. Yugi stood there with a concerned smile on his face.

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked in a 'not so happy' tone.

"I just wanted to check and see if you were ok." Yugi said kindly. Kaiba was confused. _Why would Yugi think something was wrong?_

"Why wouldn't I be?" he shot back.

"Well, you seemed a little nervous in history today so I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Kaiba turned back towards the way of his locker.

"I'm _fine_ , Yugi. Now leave me alone." He shot as he started to walk toward his locker, once again. Hoping that Yugi wouldn't follow and pester him.

When he reached his locker he opened the door and put all the books he wouldn't need until a different class in it, all standing up neat and organized. As he did so he started to think back to his run in with Yugi. Did he really look nervous enough that others noticed? Kaiba shook his head to clear it. _If you keep this up, Kaiba, you're going to do poorly in the rest of your classes._ Kaiba tried to concentrate on what class he had next. Math. _Ok, that should be easy. Unless Tabitha is in the same class._

"Arrgg. There you go thinking about that again. Stop it." Kaiba whispered angrily to himself. He took a few deep breaths to collect himself. _Ok, you've got this._ He closed the locker door and, turning around, quickly headed to class. As he turned a corner he collided with someone. The books he was carrying fell to the ground as well as the ones the other person was carrying.

"Oh, pardon me." Said the other person. Kaiba quickly got his bearings. And he realized who he had run into.

" _Tabitha!"_ At that moment the strange feeling returned, hitting him like a stone. Kaiba felt something like icy claws run down his spine as he felt her eyes on him. Kaiba quickly avoided eye contact.

"I'm sorry." She said in a kind voice. Tabitha knelt down and started picking up the books. Kaiba did the same. Still avoiding her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Tabitha said as she stood up.

"I have to go." She brushed past Kaiba and quickly headed down the hall. Kaiba turned and watched her go for a moment. As she walked away he felt the strange feeling start to fade. He shook his head to try to clear it. He quickly continued his way to class. As he walked he tried to collect himself once more. He was about ten feet away from the classroom door when the bell rang. Students started to run trying not to be late for their classes.

During math class the strange feeling had faded into nothing and after that Kaiba quickly got to all his classes without any more run-ins with Tabitha. At one point Yugi came up to him again asking if he was doing better. Kaiba glared at him, saying that he was fine and could take care of himself and that he didn't need someone checking to see if he was doing fine every minute of the day. _Why can't he just leave me alone?_ Soon all of Kaiba's classes were done and he was walking toward the main doors to leave. _I probably should stop at Kaiba Corp. and see what work I can get done there._ He thought as he reached the open doors.

"Oh, Rich Boy." Came a voice from behind him. Kaiba groaned loudly but kept walking.

"I don't want to hear it, Wheeler." He said back. Joey and Tristan came up beside him.

"So, Kaiba, what'd you think of Tabitha?" Tristan asked. Joey gave a goofy grin

"She's pretty nice and she knows a lot of good comedy acts and-"

"I don't want to hear it Wheeler!" Kaiba shouted, cutting Joey off. The last thing Kaiba wanted was to talk about Tabitha. Joey's smile vanished and he grumbled something under his breath.

"Gees Kaiba, you don't have to shout." Tristan said, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Oh come on Tristan lets go find Yugi and Taya." Joey said to Tristan motioning to go in a different direction. Kaiba walked to the side of the road, snapping out his cell phone and speed dialing his driver, telling him that he was ready to be picked up. Within five minutes, Kaiba's limo parked in front of him and he got into the back seat.

"Take me to Kaiba Corp. Headquarters." The young CEO ordered.

"Yes sir," Replied the driver as he put the car in gear and began to drive down the road. Traffic wasn't as bad as it was earlier that morning but it was still slow. Everything was pretty quiet right then. No school bells ringing, no one, mainly Yugi and his friends, bothering him, no teachers giving lectures, just the quiet hum of the limo's engine. Kaiba took a deep breath as he looked out his window at all the slow moving vehicles. Within seconds he felt his eyes start to close and he fell half asleep, his head resting against the window. In what seemed to Kaiba to be a few seconds the limo's engine turned off.

"Mr. Kaiba, we're here, sir." Said the driver. Kaiba became fully awake at the sound of the driver's voice. He quickly grabbed his brief case and stepped out of the car. The young CEO gave a curt nod to the driver motioning that he could dive off now. He watched for a second as the limo drove off, probably to pick up Mokuba. And with that Seto Kaiba walked into his company's headquarters. The lady at the front desk gave him a warm smile.

"Good day Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba gave her a quick nod before heading toward the elevator. Once in, he pressed the button to go to the top floor and watched as the doors closed and elevator car started to move. He leaned against the back of the car as it went up. He sighed in relief. Soon he would be in his nice quiet office where he could focus on his work. The elevator made a ding sound as it reached the correct floor and the doors slid open. Kaiba casually walked out and went down the hall. About half way down he stopped at the door with a sign that said 'Seto Kaiba: CEO' in gold letters. He turned the door knob and walked into his office. It was a large room with light lavender walls and a dark wooden floor. The wall opposite of the door was made completely of glass and over looked Domino City. A large mahogany desk sat a few feet from the windowed wall, facing the door. Kaiba walked over to his desk and sat in the black leather office chair. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the scattered paper work all over his desk. _I'll start with my email._ The young CEO picked up the papers covering the key board and set then in a semi neat stack to the side. He logged onto his computer and began to check his email. Kaiba trashed all the junk mail and advertisements and started to open, read, and respond to the important ones. In the process he must have lost track because, after what seemed to him like a few minutes, he heard a knock at his door. When Kaiba looked up he saw the door open and his little brother step in.

"Hi Seto. Sorry to interrupt your work." Mokuba said just above a whisper, smiling at his older brother. He walked over to the small couch in the far left side of the room and flopped down on it, setting his school bag beside him.

"It's fine, Mokuba. I was just responding to some of these emails." The older Kaiba said, looking back at the computer screen. His hands flew over the key board.

"How was the field trip?" He asked, not looking up from the screen.

"It was great. I got to see a lot of different painting techniques." Kaiba nodded in approval, still typing.

"Good." For a moment Seto's typing was the only sound in the room before Mokuba piped up with a question.

"Hey Seto? How long have you been here?" Kaiba stopped typing.

"Since school got out." He answered, leaning back in his chair.

"You've been sitting there since school got out?" Mokuba asked bluntly.

"Seto, dinner was like 3 hours ago, and look the sun's already setting." Kaiba looked behind him through the windowed wall. Flinching just a little at the stiffness in his neck. His brother was right; the sun was already setting over the city. The sky was filled with bright reds, oranges, and pinks. No clouds to be seen. He turned back to face his brother. He was leaning back on the couch and had that look of concern that he almost always had when Seto worked for a long time.

"I'm fine Mokuba. I'll get something to eat later." The older Kaiba said as he turned back to the computer screen and began typing again. He heard Mokuba sigh loudly.

"Come on, Seto. You've been sitting for too long. It's not good for you." Kaiba continued to type, not taking his eyes off the screen. He was starting to feel stiff, but he needed to finish his work.

"I just told you that I'm fine Mokuba." He glanced at his brother through the corner of his eyes. Mokuba crossed his arms and gave Kaiba that look that meant that he didn't like what his older brother was doing.

"Alright nii-sama, but would you at least go for a little walk? I can tell you're getting stiff." Kaiba stopped typing again, and he leaned back in his chair. He turned his head toward his brother. Mokuba now had a pleading expression on his face. Kaiba sighed.

"Alright, you win. I go take a small walk in the park." Mokuba smiled when his brother finally gave in. Kaiba stood up and stretched out his arms.

"But, as soon as I get back I'm going to continue my work." Kaiba said as he started to walk toward the door.

"Well in that case, I'll go ask Roland to get you something to eat for when you get back." Mokuba jumped up and started to follow him.

"So you finally get me to go on a walk, and you're not coming?" Kaiba asked bluntly as he exited his office.

"I have to finish my homework." Mokuba answered as they started toward the elevator. Once they were in the elevator car Seto pressed the button for the lobby while Mokuba pressed the one for the floor where Roland was.

"Have fun, Seto." Said the younger Kaiba as he got off on his floor. Seto watched his brother through the closing doors. He smiled slightly, though no one was around to see it. He loved his little brother dearly, and would do anything if it meant keeping Mokuba safe. Being the younger brother of the president of Kaiba Corp. attracted some unwanted attention, but Seto would protect his little brother with his life.

The elevator soon stopped at the lobby and the doors opened. Kaiba walked out and headed for the main doors. At the front desk the same lady as before smiled warmly at him.

"Good evening, Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba didn't respond. He exited the building and started down the side walk toward the park. There was no traffic and only a few people were out walking. Within about ten minutes Kaiba had reached the park. He walked into the center of the park and sat for a moment on a nearby bench watching some kids play Frisbee while their parents sat and talked at the base of a tree. The sunset had started to fade as the sun disappeared, leaving the sky a blueish grey. _Starting to get dark. I'd better head back._ With that Kaiba stood up and started walking back. As he walked down the side walk street lamps started to turn on, the sky getting darker. The streets were almost empty and very few people were out. Kaiba walked past a few small shops and other businesses that were starting to close up. A man wearing baggy pants and a black short sleeved shirt was leaning up against the display window of a clothing outlet. Talking to another guy who was probably the shop owner. Kaiba ignored them and continued walking. After taking a few steps he felt a hand land on his shoulder and spin him around. Before he could react the man he saw leaning on the display window punched him hard in the stomach and threw him in an ally way. Kaiba quickly got back on his feet, he winced in pain from where he got hit. The man that hit him stood at the entrance of the ally, the guy he was talking to stood beside him quietly. The first guy sneered at Kaiba.

"Alright Kaiba, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." He growled.

"Oh really? You and what army?" Kaiba shot. And, as if on que, two more men stepped out from the shadows. One was short and heavy while the other was tall and thin. Both of them held pistols.

"Would you like to repeat that?" The tall thin man said in a deep voice. _Oh, that's just great. As if the first two thugs weren't enough._ Kaiba groaned. How was he going to get out of this one? He turned around looking for another way out, but it was a dead end.

"There's no way out Kaiba so I suggest _not_ trying to run away." The first man sneered. At that moment Kaiba noticed movement in the shadowed corners. And, as if things couldn't get any worse five more men stepped out from behind boxes and trashcans. All of them holding some kind of weapon. He was surrounded. Kaiba turned back towards the first man.

"What do you want?" Kaiba growled. He was really not liking this situation. The first man chuckled.

"Oh, we don't want your money, Kaiba. We want something else. Something that would help make our job easier and make our boss very, very happy."

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 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And I want to give a special thanks to one of my best friends for helping me write this and editing it before I post it.**

 **Anyway, Please R &R (read and review). I'm open for tips and/or corrections.**

 _ **-Eltaur of Gondolin**_


	3. New Enemy?

**Hi people. I'm sorry this took so long to write but things have been really crazy lately. But it's up now, so enjoy. Please R &R.**

 **P.S. I forgot to put this in the last chapter, but when Kaiba gets out of school and goes to KC. HQ. he changes his into his typical black outfit and white coat. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.**

 _ **-Eltaur of Gondolin**_

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 **Seto's POV**

" _Oh, we don't want your money, Kaiba. We want something else. Something that would help make our job easier and our boss very, very happy."_ The man let out a maniacal laugh. Kaiba stared at the strange man. The boy's face held no emotion but inside he was slightly confused by the wild man's words. Multiple questions and scenarios went through his mind. In the past many people had plotted to take over Kaiba Corp. either as some kind of revenge of for their own gain. Although, in the end they had all been defeated, the price of victory for the young businessman was usually quite high. But, he had pulled through then and he was determined to pull through now.

The wild man stopped laughing and frowned. The two men with the pistols took a few steps forward and stopped as if waiting for their orders. They didn't have to wait long: with a dangerously calm voice, the first man said two words that sent a shiver down Seto's spine:

"Get him."

"And don't forget to have fun, boys," said the man that stood beside the first man. With that the thugs advanced. Seto readied himself for the fight. He knew he was outnumbered and wouldn't last long, especially against the pistols, but there was no way he was going down without a fight.

The blue eyed boy quickly glanced around trying to find some means of escape. As he did so one of the thugs charged at him, holding a crowbar above his head, ready to strike. Seto quickly used one hand and grabbed the guy's wrist before he could bring the crowbar down on his head. Then using the other hand, he grabbed his shirt and flipped his attacker over his shoulders, slamming him onto the concrete ground. The thug immediately released his hold on the crowbar. He laid there for only a moment before jumping up and backing back into the advancing group. Kaiba quickly grabbed for the crowbar that the thug had dropped. Right as he got a hold on it, he felt something slam into him from the rear. He tightened his grip on the crowbar as the ground rushed to meet him. The blow knocked the breath out of the brunette, but he wasn't going to let it slow him down. Gasping to get his breath back, he quickly rolled onto his back and raised the crowbar just in time to block a metal pole aimed for his head. He kicked the attacker in the gut, knocking him across the ground. He had only a short moment to react before another thug lashed out with a chain. He rolled to the side right as the chain hit where his head had been just a second ago. _What is with these people and going for my head?_ He thought, quickly jumping to his feet. He kicked out behind him, sensing that someone was there. He was greeted by a satisfying grunt as he made contact with someone's chest. Without wasting a moment he spun around and held the crowbar in front of him vertically, intercepting a blow from another crowbar that was aimed at his side. Spinning as he did so, he used his own crowbar to shove the other one away and, as he came out of the turn, struck the man in the gut with the front of it. The man gasped, dropping his weapon. Seto then kicked out and sent the man flying back. He spun around to face his next opponent, but ended up turning right into the path of a well-aimed punch. He felt the man's fist connect with the side of his face, which sent him flying a few feet before hitting the ground. Stars danced before his eyes and a wave of dizziness flooded over him. He gave an irritated growl as he struggled to his feet, ignoring the vertigo. In such a fight as this he couldn't afford to be caught off guard.

He looked up just in time to see the thug, who had punched him break into a charge. Kaiba smirked inwardly as an idea came to him. He slouched and tilted his head downward as if he was still dazed by the first blow. The thug seemed to buy his act and continued to charge toward him, unaware that he was preparing to counter his charge. Once the thug was within range Seto jabbed his elbow into the man's stomach. The man doubled over with a surprised grunt. Seto smirked as he watched the man crumble to the ground. He was quite pleased that the thug had fallen for his trick.

When he saw the thug try to rise, he quickly sent a downward punch aimed for the man's jaw. The blow landed successfully, rendering the thug unconscious. Seto turned around, ready to fight another opponent. He could feel the adrenalin running through him.

A battle cry rang out through the alley way, although, it sounded more like a cat being strangled. Seto spun in the direction of the sound.

Another man charged out of the circle of thugs and right at him… With _no_ weapons... At first, Seto just stared at the man wondering what his plan was; he had no weapons and his small lanky form didn't make him look at all like a threat, but he knew that looks could be deceiving so he prepared himself for a good fight.

Seto easily dodged the assault while the thug stumbled after missing his target. The man stopped and turned back to face him. He charged again, and missed again. The thug must have gotten tired of charging and decided to try something different. This time, he lunged for the young CEO; and fell short by about three feet. _Definitely not the smartest of the group,_ Kaiba thought to himself. If only the other thugs were like this guy: then this fight wouldn't be much of a problem, but, unfortunately, the others were much sharper.

The man rose to his feet with an angry growl and lunged at him again. Seto dodged it, but this time he felt a searing pain tear across his back. He cried out in pain and stumbled forward a few steps before turning around to face this new attacker. He flinched as the pain in his back burned like fire all up and down his back; the burning worsened when he moved.

"For goodness sake, just stay back and let us do this." The man with the chain shouted to the one with no weapons. _I forgot about him,_ Kaiba thought as he glared at the man. _He must have been waiting for a chance to strike while I was distracted_. He had been so caught up with the other thugs that had temporarily forgotten that the man was still there. In fact; where had the two men with

The man with the chains gave him a sly grin and lashed out with the chains once again. Seto dodged but was knocked to the ground by another man in the process. The blow caused him to drop the crowbar. He quickly tried to get to his feet, but before he could get his balance he felt a hand grab him by his shoulders and shove him harshly back into the ground. Underneath the weight of his opponent, he quickly twisted himself around and dug his fingers into the man's shoulder; aiming for the painful pressure point there. The man hollered in pain and quickly releases his grip on the boy. Seto took advantage of the distraction and gave the many a well-aimed punch to the jaw. Once the unconscious man fell to the ground, he rolled backwards over his shoulders and onto his feet. A man with two metal pipes in his hands charged at him. He was only able to avoid the flying poles for a moment before one connected with his cheek. The brunette felt the edge of the pole slice his skin and could feel the warm, sticky blood run down his jawbone. Dazed, he reached up and touched his bleeding cheek. The wound wasn't very deep but now he had one more wound to add to the others he had gained that night.

While he was dazed the thug brought both metal poles down on his left shoulder. Pain erupted through his arm. With a cry of pain, Seto fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder. Before he could recover from the blow, another thug violently grabbed his collar and pulled him up just enough to knee him in the gut. Kaiba gave a grunt as the blow knocked breath out of him. The thug gave a short laugh as he tossed the brown-haired teen the ground just few feet away. Seto coughed, trying to catch his breath but was unable to before another thug kicked him side. For a short moment, he was unable to breathe. Though, that 'short moment' seemed to last for many long seconds.

"Would'ya look at that," someone growled. Kaiba lifted his head slightly to see who had spoken. He flinched as the movement caused the pain in his gut to spike. The man with the chain stood over him. "Got no fight left in you?" he sneered.

The man reached down and grabbed the Seto by the front of his shirt and lifted him so that they came to eye level. Kaiba tried to pry the man's hands off but they had a steel hold on him. The man glared right into Seto's blue eyes and smiled wickedly.

"Fun's over," he whispered. Dread washed over Kaiba as he heard those words. The man threw him against a wall. Stars exploded in front of Kaiba's vision as his head hit the bricks. Falling to the ground he squeezed his eyes shut trying to get the world to stop spinning. When he opened his eyes he could see that all the thugs had gathered around him. The first man stepped out in front, the two men with the pistols at his side.

"This was too easy," the first man said. He sounded disappointed. Kaiba tried to get back on his feet, but only got about a foot of the ground before the pain that spiked through his body caused him to collapse. He leaned back against the wall, groaning inwardly.

"Let's just get this over with," growled one of the gunmen. Seto glared up at the man. His blue eyes shone defiantly. There was no way he was going to let them win. He had come against many strong enemies in the past and had never backed down and he wasn't going to start now.

Ignoring the intensifying pain he slowly rose to his feet.

"I'm not done yet," he growled.

The first man raised an eyebrow. He looked at the short gunman on his left and nodded. The gunman smiled, raising his gun and firing at the businessman. Seto gasped as he felt the bullet hit his left thigh. He collapsed back on the ground starting to pant slightly as pain erupted from the bullet wound. His vision started to turn blurry. _Come on Kaiba. Don't pass out._

"You're coming with us whether you want to or not," the first man said quietly. Seto looked down at his leg. Crimson blood was soaking into his black jeans and had started to seep onto the ground, staining the concrete. He knew he was now in no condition to do much, his body was rigid with pain and the vertigo had returned. He knew that if he didn't escape soon he'd probably bleed to death, but at the moment he was doing well enough not blacking out.

Through his blurred vison Kaiba saw the thugs start to advance on him. His hope started to fade. The thugs didn't get far before a dark, figure landed in front of them. The figure seemed to be wearing a blue cloak with a hood that was pulled up. _Great, they have backup,_ he thought. The chances of him escaping were already next to impossible, but now those odds just dwindled even more.

But then Kaiba realized that the figure was not facing him. The thugs stopped their advance, but before they could react the figure charged them: leaping into the air and sending two men flying with a split kick. Why was the figure fight them? Was he trying to help the young CEO or was he trying to settle some score with the thugs.

All of Kaiba's questions and confusion started to fade as his vison became even more blurry and the dark void of oblivion pressed to overtake him. He could hear people yelling and guns firing, but soon even the sounds started to fade as he could fight off unconsciousness no more.

(*)

Kaiba woke to the ringing of his cellphone. He tried to get up but the searing pain was too much. He collapsed back on the ground. He let out a loud groan when the pain didn't subside. A second later everything came rushing back to his memory. His eyes shot open as he remembered the thugs. He turned his head expecting to see them standing over him, ready to strike, but he was alone. Their weapons littered the ground but there was no sign of the ones that had attacked him. _Where did they go, and where was the cloaked figure_? Had the stranger with the cloak fought them off, and if so, why?

Kaiba gave a soft sigh of relief that he had not been captured but, still, the whole incident didn't make much sense and many questions still plagued him.

He then realized that he was lying on his back about ten feet away from the wall that he was leaning against. _How did I get over here?_ Now he had another question to add to the still growing pile. The ringing of his phone drew his attention away from all his questions. He slowly reached into his pocket and grabbed his cellphone. His shoulder started too ached badly as he did so, but he ignored it. He looked at the caller. It was Mokuba. How long had he been out? His little brother must had started to worry when he had not come back. Kaiba flipped open his phone and put it to his ear.

"Mokuba?" his voice sounded weaker than he intended. He hoped the Mokuba wouldn't notice.

"Seto! Where are you? It's almost midnight." Mokuba's voice sounded frantic. "I've called about five times, but you wouldn't answer and-" Mokuba stopped for a moment. "Nii-sama? Are you alright?" he asked. His tone was filled with more concern. He probably had just now realized how weak the older Kaiba sounded. Kaiba took a breath before answering his little brother.

"Mokuba, bring a limo to the park down town. I need to be picked up." He closed his eyes as the pain from the bullet wound in his leg started to grow immensely. It took all his will strength not to cry out in pain.

"Seto, what happened? What's wrong?" Mokuba's voice started to sound even more frantic.

"Just come to the park. I'll meet you there," he responded, gritting his teeth. He wanted to yell out in pain but he couldn't let his little brother hear him. He had to stay strong, so he held it in.

"OK, Seto. I'll be there in a moment." With that Kaiba hung up and put his phone back into his pocket. He released the cry of pain through gritted teeth; thankful that Mokuba wasn't there at the moment to hear him. The older Kaiba hated being weak and helpless, especially in front of others and would often say that he was fine even when he wasn't.

Slowly he sat up, hissing in pain as the throbbing in his gut turned into sharp stabs. His back no longer burned but instead felt numb. Now he just had to get to the park himself. _This is going to be fun,_ he thought sarcastically.

Once he sat up, he started to examine his leg. What he saw shocked and confused him; adding more questions the list. A white cloth was tied tightly around the wound. The part right over the wound was red with blood. Did the cloaked figure do this? Whoever did this, Kaiba figured that the bandage would at least stop some of the bleeding until he could bandage it himself.

Summoning all the strength he could, he slowly pushed himself to his feet. The brunette gasped as pain erupted in his leg, almost causing him to fall back down. He quickly shifted all his weight over to his uninjured leg. He took a few deep breaths before taking a careful step forward. He stumbled badly and almost ended up on the ground. He continued to try walking and succeeded in almost falling on his face a few times. The pain grew intensely. His vision started to swim. He closed his eyes tightly trying to get it to stop. After a moment he opened them and was relieved to find that the spinning had stopped. Though, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Slowly and unsteadily he made his way out of the alleyway and started down the sidewalk towards the park. It took all his will power to keep going and not pass out. In about fifteen minutes he arrived at the edge of the park. He was panting heavily now and the pain in his body was almost unbearable. He felt what little energy he had just drain out of him. The loss of blood finally taking its toll.

"Seto!" Kaiba turned his head in the direction of the voice. He saw Mokuba running toward him with the limo driver at his heels. At that moment, Seto's vision started to swim again, but this time more intensely. He shut his eyes tightly, trying and failing to get the vertigo to cease. He started to feel himself sway and struggled to stay on his feet. He realized that his effort was in vain when he felt himself begin to fall. He prepared himself for when he met the ground, but the impact never came. He felt strong arms catch and embrace him. Kaiba felt himself being lowered gently to the ground.

"Nii-sama." Kaiba could barely hear his little brother call for him. Unconsciousness threatened to consume him once again. He struggled to open his eyes.

"Big brother, please, wake up!"

"Mr. Kaiba, can you hear us?" He was finally able to open his eyes a little, but his vision was blurred and he could barely make out the face of his brother. Mokuba gripped his big brother's shoulders gently. As if trying to keep him from falling into the darkness of unconsciousness.

"Seto…" Mokuba's eyes were filling with tears. The driver was behind the young CEO, propping him up against his chest.

"Are you alright, sir?" the driver asked. He sounded just as concerned as Mokuba.

"M-Mok-uba-a," Seto whispered shakily. He was panting even harder than before. Mokuba tried to scoot closer to his older sibling, but accidently jarred Seto's wounded leg. Seto gave a weak gasp as pain shot up his leg. Mokuba quickly realized what he did and moved back bit, flinching at the sound of his brother's pained cry.

"Just hang in there, Seto. You're gonna to be ok," the child said shakily. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gently pressed it against the cut on his brother's cheek. Seto closed his eyes and let his brother tend to his wound. Normally he couldn't stand anyone trying to tend to him but at this moment he was just focused on staying awake.

"What happened to you?" Mokuba asked. His voice was just above a whisper. The older Kaiba did not want to concern his brother with the incident that occurred, but knew that it was already too late to try and hide it now and that his injuries needed immediate attention.

"I-I was at-ata-a-attack-," Kaiba's voice stuttered as he tried his best to stay awake and answer his brother's question. He struggled to remain conscious, but the dark void came down on him even harder. His breath was now coming out in short, labored pants and his vison was starting to grow dark. _Come on, Kaiba. Stay awake._

"You were attacked?" Mokuba gasped. He shook his brother a little trying to get him to stay awake.

"Come on, bro. Stay with me," he pleaded. Seto felt the driver tighten his grip around him and try to sit him up more as if to help the boy stay awake, but his strength was failing fast and he didn't know how much longer he had.

He opened his mouth to say something but only a groan escaped his lips. The pain in his body had finally started to numb and for the second time that night he could hold on to consciousness no more. The sounds of his brother pleading for him to wake soon vanished into silence and he remembered no more.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I will hopefully be posting the next one real soon.**

 **I'm open for any corrections and/or ideas. Thanks for reading.**

 _ **-Eltaur of Gondolin**_


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